Run For Your Life
by Suituuup
Summary: Chloe doesn't know when Beca became her life; her body and soul. She just knows she would do anything to save her. So she starts running as if her life depends on it, because it does. Trigger warning: deals with gun violence and a school shooting.


**Hi all! I'm aware it's fairly bold of me to choose to write about this subjet, but I recently re-watched OTH 3x16 and I couldn't stop imagining Bechloe.**

 **Thanks to Wonderstruckkk for proofreading this!**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Chloe Beale _loves_ spring. It's her favorite season of the year, closely followed by fall. She loves everything about it; the birds chirping just outside her window, the blooming flowers, the vibrant colors, nature walks and lemonade stands.

Spring also brings forth the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella _,_ for which the Bellas qualified for the third time in a row.

As April comes around, it is safe to say that Chloe is beyond excited about the upcoming weeks.

It's pushing ten A.M. at Barden University, Georgia, on a beautiful spring morning. The temperatures have just gotten warmer, allowing people to switch from their heavy coats to lighter jackets or simple sweaters.

Chloe is animatedly telling Stacie about the show she's just started watching while on their way to meet Amy and Beca at the library to study for their upcoming exams.

"I'm telling you, the cast for this thing is amaz-"

Chloe's sentence abruptly stops as a loud _bang_ echoes throughout the entire campus.

Everything around them seems to still.

Campus grows quiet for several stretched-out seconds, save for the bird chirping on the tree above Chloe's head, oblivious to the whole situation.

People halt themselves to look at each other in confusion, which is quickly wiped out by panic when other shots reverberate inside the building.

 _Gun_ shots.

Those are followed by a chaos of screams and shouts, and the doors to the building spring open to let a wave of terrified students out.

There's a part of Chloe's brain that tells her to run, but her body is grasped by such fear that her legs have suddenly turned to leaden, trapping her feet to the ground. Stacie seizes her hand, prompting Chloe to meet her equally frightened eyes.

"Amy!"

Stacie's shout pulls Chloe's attention back to the chaos unfolding a hundred yards from them. Amy stops, out of breath and frazzled, incoherent speech sputtering out of her mouth at a pace that is difficult to follow. Chloe has never seen the Australian look so scared, and that's when the seriousness of the situation dawns onto her.

Chloe looks over her shoulder behind her, then to her right, and left. Her frantic eyes flit to each person, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of a plaid shirt or black Chuck Taylors.

Her gut feeling tells her Beca is still inside.

Trapped in the building with a gunman.

Beca, her best friend.

The girl she has been hopelessly in love with for the last two years.

And that's when her heart stops. She sucks in a huge breath, only to choke on it.

"Where's Beca?"

She interrupts Amy, locking her hand onto the blonde's forearm to catch her attention.

"I don't know!" Amy cries out, looking back towards the doors. "She was right behind me! I think I lost her in the crowd!"

Chloe can't quite put words on what goes through her head in that moment. She doesn't know when Beca became her life; her body and soul.

She just knows she would do anything to save her.

So she starts running as if her life depends on it, because it _does_.

The contents of her purse spill onto the ground as she whirls around in one swift movement; sunglasses, keys, wallet, tangled earbuds she borrowed from Beca without asking and never gave back.

She thinks she hears her friends shouting her name, but it's faint over the sound of her feet heavily slamming against the concrete as she runs towards the building.

Faint over her own heartbeat hammering in her ears.

She fights against the sea of students to slip inside and slows down considerably when she realizes that she could come face to face with the gunman at any moment. She doesn't think her speed would change anything were she to come face to face with him, but she'd like to not draw too much attention to herself. She steps lightly on the linen floor towards the library, where she and Beca were supposed to meet.

She rounds the corner, looking both left and right with bathed breathing to make sure it's clear. Loud footsteps make her freeze and stick to the wall, eyes scrunching shut as she waits for her inevitable death.

It doesn't come though, and the footsteps grow farther and farther while Chloe exhales, cold sweat already dripping down her back and seeping through her shirt.

The rational part of her brain is starting to wonder what possessed her to run into the building, but Beca quickly comes back to the front of her mind, decimating her fears in favor of purpose. She peaks inside the window of the library door, attempting to catch any movement.

The room looks still and quiet, so she tentatively pushes it open, eyes screwing shut when it squeaks. She has been in Barden for the last six years, and knows perfectly well that this door always squeaks, but never paid more attention to it before now.

Chloe pauses, expecting the gunman to come out of his hiding spot and shoot her, but once again, nothing comes. Nothing, except for the weak sound of a sob coming from further into the room.

That's when she notices the trickle of blood on the floor, starting a few feet from her and getting larger the closer she gets to the History section towards the back of the library.

Chloe's throat bobs up and down in a painful swallow. This blood could be belonging to Beca as much as it could be belonging to another student in need of help.

She slowly rounds the shelves, step faltering slightly in stiff apprehension of what her sight might unveil. The first thing she registers is a terrified scream that has her gripping her chest in fright.

That scream is followed by a choked sob, and Chloe opens her eyes to find a familiar silhouette leaning against the shelves.

"Oh my God," Chloe's face blanches as she rushes to the figure, dropping to her knees next to her. "Beca!"

"Chlo," Beca cries out in a murmur, panic-filled eyes locking with Chloe's.

Chloe's shaky hands come up to cup the brunette's face with both hands, partly to make sure she isn't dreaming. Beca's skin is warm under her fingertips, a great contrast to its ghostly complexion. Chloe's eyes run over Beca's body, quickly assessing her injuries. Beca's right hand is pressed against her thigh, blood seeping out from her jeans and in-between her fingers.

Chloe manages to reign in the sob itching to get out and blinks back the moisture in her eyes. Beca is terrified and hurt; the last thing she needs is Chloe breaking down.

Her mind is a blurry mess as to what she should do first. Safety seems to be the priority.

"Beca," she murmurs lowly, angling the brunette's face to have her meet her eyes, "Is the shooter still in here?"

Beca's head shakes hurriedly, "I don't- I don't think so."

Chloe puffs out a breath, but it does very little in soothing the tachycardia she is currently experiencing.

"It _hurts_."

Beca's voice wavers as her eyes screw shut in pain. Chloe's eyes snap back to her wound.

"Okay, okay."

She looks down at Beca's injury and tries to wrack her brains for any leftover knowledge from the first-aid classes she took during her first year at Barden.

Apply pressure to the wound, tie something above it to slow the blood flow, make sure there's still a pulse, keep the injured person awake and alert.

The thing is, first-aid-class didn't teach her how to deal with this type of setting with the overbearing fear that she might be shot, too, were the gunman be coming back into the library.

"Bec, I need to make a sort of tourniquet, so you don't lose too much blood."

Chloe sits back on her knees and takes her belt off. She lifts Beca's leg as gently as she can and wraps the piece of leather around the upper part of Beca's thigh, above the wound, before buckling it tight enough to hopefully, make the bleeding stop. Beca muffles her whimpers of pain by biting down on her hand, but the sound still makes Chloe's heart snap in her chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she stammers with a grimace, crawling back up to Beca's level. She cups Beca's cheek and leans in to press her lips to Beca's forehead in a light, apologetic kiss. She remains there a moment, letting Beca lean against her lips. "I'm done, it's okay."

She moves to stand up, but her arm is caught in a vice grip before she has even straightened up. Dark blue eyes stare at her widely.

"Don't leave," Beca's voice is hoarse and desperate. Chloe sits back on her heels, gripping Beca's hand in hers. " _Please_."

"I'm not leaving," she amends hurriedly, squeezing Beca's hand tenderly. "I'm just going to block the doors, alright?"

Beca gives her a faint nose, her tense upper-body slumping back against the row of books behind her. "Okay."

"I won't be long," she assures the shorter woman, pressing a quick kiss across Beca's knuckles to mark her words. "I _promise_."

Once she has found furniture to somehow block the entrance, Chloe takes a moment to gather herself. She leans against the reception desk and blows out a deep breath, eyes slipping shut as she fights an oncoming wave of nausea. She swallows the bile rising into her throat and grits her teeth, lifting a hand to push her hair back from her sweaty forehead.

She pauses, taking in the dried blood on her fingers and palm. Beca's blood.

Tears fill her eyes to the rim and she successfully blinks them away, letting her hand drop back to her side.

"Get it together, Beale," she whispers to herself, fists curling by her thighs to somehow gather some strength. "Breaking down won't help her."

Chloe walks back to the history section and sits back against the shelves, letting Beca rest against her side.

With her other arm she reaches inside her bag to look for her phone and possibly call for help. To her dismay, it's nowhere to be found, and she curses under her breath, figuring it must have fallen when she ran. She figures help is already on its way already, anyway.

Chloe rests back against the row of books, ears trained both for any sound of intrusion and Beca's steady breathing.

Silence settles between them, heavy and pressing against Chloe's shoulders as minutes agonizingly tick by, until a shiver breaks Chloe's train of thoughts.

The back of her hand finds Beca's cheek, then her forehead, lingering. Chloe curses under her breath when she realizes Beca is experiencing fever.

"Bec, hey," she murmurs, heart jumping in her throat when Beca's lids don't open right away. "You gotta stay awake, okay?"

Beca gives in to another shudder.

"I'm cold, Chloe."

Chloe twists to kneel on the floor, straightening Beca's torso to prevent her from tipping over now that she isn't there to support her weight. She shrugs off her sweater, wordlessly reprimanding herself for not giving it to Beca before.

Once she's rid of the cotton material, Chloe pulls Beca towards her gently, away from the bookshelf to be able to slip the sweater over Beca's shoulder.

"Better?" she asks quietly, running her knuckles over Beca's cheekbone and jaw. Beca nods, opening and closing her mouth several times, as if to get rid of the dryness Chloe also feels in her own mouth. "Are you thirsty?"

"Little bit."

Chloe knows there's a vending machine in one corner of the library. It's not that far, but still far enough for her to have to leave Beca several minutes and the thought alone makes her wary.

"I'll go get us some water. Promise me you'll stay awake?"

Beca gives her another weak nod. It takes exactly two minutes for Chloe to get to the machine and come back while staying clear of any door or window.

"Here," she says, uncapping one of the bottles and slowly tipping the water in Beca's open mouth. Beca swallows with difficulty, head tilting back against the books. "More?"

Her question is interrupted by a gunshot ringing through the building. Chloe's blood runs cold, the bottle of water slipping from her grasp in shock and emptying itself on the carpet floor. Beca can't contain a gut-twisting sob and Chloe's reflexes kick in. She covers Beca's mouth with her hand to muffle her whimpers, the other one coming up to her own mouth to make a shushing gesture with her pointer finger over her lips.

Beca's orbs lock with hers, silently screaming in fear, and Chloe wills hers to remain soft and warm, in a poor attempt to reassure Beca without making a sound.

A scream quickly followed by another shot shake Chloe to the core. It's coming from the hall leading to the library, and Chloe is aware that her makeshift barricade wouldn't last long if the shooter decided they want to come in.

Chloe has never found herself in situation of grave danger, and has never experienced the infamous, life flashing before your eyes theory, until now.

In the seconds that follow, Chloe doesn't see her life flash before her eyes, not exactly. She sees her moments with Beca; meeting her at the activity's fair, the shower, her audition, their win at the ICCA's, the smile they shared this morning that made Chloe's heart flutter in her chest.

But also, what could have been. She wishes she had had the courage to tell Beca how she really feels. She wishes she could have taken Beca on a date (to Beca's favorite diner, they would have shared the chocolate and banana milkshake for dessert).

She would have kissed Beca for the first time in front of the house, even though it would have been ridiculous because they both live in the same house. Beca would have made fun of her, but would have secretely loved it nonetheless, Chloe knows.

It slowly kills Chloe to watch Beca's eyes fill with tears and topple down her cheeks without being able to do something about it. She feels utterly powerless.

"It's okay," she mouths to Beca while battling with her own tears. She pulls her hand away from Beca's mouth slowly, but Beca grips it, lacing their fingers together as she closes her eyes and breathes out for a long stretch of time.

The brunette presses their now interlaced hands against her sternum, and Chloe finds some comfort upon feeling Beca's heart thump steadily against her knuckles.

They are eventually surrounded by silence once more. Deafening silence that Chloe expects to be broken at any moment by a rattle of the library door.

An hour passes. A long, excruciating hour spent in utter silence for fear of being heard. Chloe is wired, earing focused on any sound or movement in their surroundings. She wonders what's going on outside, if a team is ready to come in or not. She wonders where the shooter is.

"I'm tired, Chlo," Beca's voice is small, but it still manages to halt Chloe's breathing. Her head has been resting on Chloe's shoulder ever since Chloe resumed to her initial position next to Beca.

"I know," Chloe murmurs as quietly, glancing down at Beca. She runs her thumb across the back of Beca's hand and drops a kiss into her dark hair. "But you need to stay awake, okay? Tell me something."

Beca chuckles lowly, "Like what?"

"Like… something about your childhood."

"Mmm, okay," Beca slurs, straightening her head from Chloe's shoulder. She blinks to adjust to the sunrays filtering through the window above their heads. "I jumped off the roof of my house once when I was seven, right after watching Mary Poppins. I thought I could fly with an umbrella but turns out I could not." Beca snickers at her own tale, and Chloe joins in. "Got four stitches near my elbow."

She lifts her arm -hand still woven with Chloe's- to show Chloe the proof and there's indeed a short white line from the inside of the elbow to the outside of her forearm, right below Chloe's sweater rolled-up sleeve.

Chloe stifles a laugh but cannot suppress her grin.

"You jumped off the _roof_ with an umbrella? How is this the first time I hear of this?"

Beca looks up to meet Chloe's sheepish eyes.

"Because I knew you would have laughed. I guess I was right."

"Sorry," Chloe giggles, tugging her bottom lip past her teeth and rolling it back out. "I'm just having a hard time picturing you as an adventurous kid."

"Hey," Beca says in offense, but it comes out slurred and weak, as is her attempt to shove Chloe. The seriousness of Beca's state dawns onto her. She needs to get Beca out of here before it's too late. Before the brunette loses too much blood to come out of it alive. "Where did you get yours?"

Chloe blinks dazedly out of her dark thoughts.

"Huh?"

Beca lets go of her hand to run a finger over the mark on the redhead's forehead as a wordless answer to Chloe's confusion.

"Oh," Chloe lets out, skin tingling from where Beca had touched her. It felt intimate, somehow, that gentle swipe of the thumb over a memory etched in Chloe's skin. "My brothers were babysitting me when I was six and I guess they _forgot_ they were. I ended up outside on my own, stumbled on a step and fell head first over a brick."

"Ouch."

"Yeah…" Chloe trails off with a shrug.

"I think it's badass," Beca muses, giving Chloe a lopsided smile. " _You're_ badass."

Chloe rolls her eyes, fighting off an unusual blush.

"And _I_ think you don't know what you're saying anymore."

"You are," Beca insists, twisting her head to the side to take a better look at Chloe. "You're the strongest and most determined person I've ever met. I don't think the Bellas would work without you in the equation."

Chloe swallows thickly, grinding her teeth together in a poor attempt to keep her emotions in check.

"Right back at you. Your talent and creativity have changed the face of the Bellas forever, for the better."

And that's when she loses it.

The thought of losing Beca makes her chest burn and bubbles up a sob that flees from her throat before her hand can muffle it. The thought of not having her best friend around anymore. Of not getting to see the girl she's in love with every single day.

Beca's head snaps to her, eyes filled with confusion.

"Hey," Beca captures her attention, hand flailing until it's linked with Chloe's again. "Don't cry."

"I…" Chloe tries to exhale steadily but it comes out shaky and ragged. "I can't _lose_ you."

"Don't be silly," Beca's voice is hoarse with equal emotions. She still manages a smirk. "I'm totally fine. I could run a marathon."

Chloe lets out a watery laugh despite herself. Beca couldn't run a marathon even without the injury. She looks over at Beca to attest her words but finds the brunette's eyes unfocused and glassy. Chloe feels the atmosphere switch.

"I love you, Chlo," Beca's whisper makes Chloe's insides freeze over. Beca's tone of skin has turned even paler than before, lips chapped and circled with a faint outline of dried blood.

"Don't do this," Chloe says sternly, shaking her head relentlessly to prevent her mind from sinking into darkness. "Don't talk like you're saying goodbye."

"I called you weird this morning," Beca resumes, ignoring Chloe's plea. "You know I meant it in an endearing way, right? You're _my_ weirdo and I wouldn't have it any other way." She pauses and lifts her free hand to hold Chloe's jaw. "I love you."

Chloe chokes on her own breat.

"Bec."

"No, you don't understand," Beca interrupts with a faint headshake. "I _love_ you."

Chloe stares at her, her entire body stilling as she tries to process exactly what Beca means by that.

"C'mere," Beca whispers shakily, eyes briefly opening. Chloe leans in, expecting Beca to say something in her ear, but Beca dips down instead, meeting Chloe's lips in the softest of kisses. Chloe freezes, before melting into it, as if to slow down time to make it last longer. To make it last long enough for her to burn the feeling of Beca's mouth against hers into her mind. Beca pulls away, the hint of a smile now painted on her lips.

"I can't die without you knowing how I _really_ feel about you."

Chloe's mouth moves wordlessly, torn between releasing a sob and pouring her love out to Beca. Her train of thought comes to a sharp stop when Beca's eyes slide shut then and her head lolls to the side as she slips into unconsciousness.

"Beca?" Chloe calls out, fear paralyzing her limbs. She frantically moves to crouch in front of Beca, seizing her face in both hands. Beca's skin is cold against her clammy palms. "Beca, wake up!"

Chloe's stomach falls as Beca remains unresponsive.

"No, no, no." She stammers to herself, breathing turning erratic with each passing second.

There's no time to wait for help.

She _has_ to get Beca out of here.

Chloe springs to her feet and jogs to the door, clearing it from the furniture blocking the way. Beca is still unconscious when she gets back to her, body crookedly slumped against the shelves from lack of support and strength. Chloe kneels down, draping one of Beca's arms over her shoulders while her own wrap around her back and underneath her knees.

"Okay," she adjusts Beca in her arms as best as she can and stands on wobbly legs, staggering slightly from the added weight and precarious balance. Beca's head rests against her collarbone, the steady breathing Chloe feels against her skin a testament that she's still alive. "I've got you."

It's a blur after that. Chloe's legs are on auto-pilot, with only one destination in mind: safety. She doesn't stop at each corner and doesn't look back once her eyes lock on the exit.

Chloe takes in a huge gush of air when she slips through the doors, out of relief and necessity.

She's quickly surrounded by a SWAT team, each member pointing their gun at her. Beca is plucked from her arms, and Chloe is asked to kneel on the ground with her hands behind her head, just as a precaution, they say.

Her eyes never leave Beca, though. Her petite body is lain on a gurney and a team of two paramedics bustle around her, until the stretcher is rolled into the back of the ambulance and its doors close.

"Chloe!" She thinks she recognizes Stacie's voice as she's led back away from the building. She's engulfed in a strong hug and that's all it takes to destroy the dam.

Ugly, gut wrenching sobs flee out of her mouth with no restraint, her body finally giving to the utter terror it has been trapped in for the last two hours.

"Are you crazy!" the tall brunette patronizes, pulling away and keeping Chloe at arm's length. "What were you thinking?! Running back inside that building!"

"I had to, Stace," Chloe states with a shrug, and Stacie's shoulders slump with a resigned sigh. "I couldn't _not_ do anything."

"I get it. You just scared the shit out of me." Stacie hugs her again, and is soon joined by all the Bellas, who were hanging back. "C'mon, we'll drive you to the hospital."

Chloe learns on her way to the hospital that two students have been killed. She seizes Stacie's wrist as the information sinks into her brain and tells her through gritted teeth to pull over, so she can empty the contents of her stomach on the side of the road.

The tension in the hospital is palpable when they get there. Jesse is already in the waiting room, having probably ridden with the ambulance, Chloe figures.

Chloe sinks next to him on a chair and pulls him into a long hug. He thanks her repeatedly, for going in there to save Beca, and Chloe can't ignore how twisted the whole situation is. She's comforting the boyfriend of the girl who's in love with her. The boyfriend of the girl _she_ 's in love with.

Chloe wills her brain to not burn steps. She doesn't know anything about Beca's state. The brunette is in surgery, and most likely to stay in there a couple hours so the damages caused by the bullet can be altered.

But she's stable. And Chloe hangs onto that with her dear life.

It's late when the doctors come in to give Beca's father an update. Beca is out of the woods but will have to stay in the hospital for at least a week. Luckily, the bullet missed the femoral artery by millimeters but hit a nerve that prevents Beca from moving anything from the knee and below.

Intense physical therapy will follow for her to be able to use her leg normally. She won't perform at the ICCA's in three weeks, but that detail gets propelled to the back of Chloe's brain. Beca is alive, and that's all that matters.

The doctor concludes by telling Chloe that Beca would probably not be alive if it weren't for her quick thinking over the tourniquet. She would have bled to death without it.

Only Beca's father is allowed to visit her, rightly so, so Jesse offers to drive Chloe back to the Bellas house, the girls having left earlier when after a five-hour-wait, Chloe promised she would keep them posted.

The ride back is silent, except for the voices only Chloe can hear webbing themselves in her brain.

Echoing, whispering, shouting. Making her relive the last ten hours of her life in a loop.

She wants them to stop.

She wakes up drenched in her sweat in the middle of the night, jolting awake from a nightmare. Beca didn't make it. She died in her arms and Chloe never recovered from the emotional pain.

After getting a glass of water from the kitchen, Chloe pads to Stacie's room, knocking on the door softly. Always the light sleeper, Stacie tells her to come in, and Chloe breaks down in her arms, until eventually, she drifts off to a restless sleep.

She wakes up mere hours later to a text from Jesse.

 _hey g_ _oing to the hospital now_ _i_ _can pick u up if u want._

Chloe thinks their time together yesterday was sufficiently awkward to last them a lifetime. She quickly replies.

 **Thanks, but I'm not up yet. Tell Beca I'll stop by later today.**

Chloe swings by the hospital gift shop on her way to Beca's room and ends up buying a teddy bear that's probably around Beca's size. With her new purchase under her arm, she knocks softly at Beca's door.

"Oh, hi," she says awkwardly upon seeing Beca's father sitting in a chair next to Beca's bed. Her eyes meet Beca's briefly, heart settling down when she receives a small smile. "I can come back."

"No, no," Warren insists with a wave of the hand as he gets to his feet. "I was just on my way to get a coffee. I'll leave you two alone."

Chloe waits until the door flaps upon his departure before taking cautious steps towards the bed. She can't quite pinpoint why she feels so out of place all of the sudden.

"I, uh, I got you this," she says, holding up the teddy-bear, as if Beca hadn't noticed it already given its disproportionate size.

"Is it supposed to be a joke about my height?" Beca asks with a teasing smile and Chloe means to laugh, but it comes out more as a sob, and soon her face is crumbling as she makes the remaining distance to the bed in quick strides, engulfing Beca into a tight hug.

Beca lets out a grunt but Chloe barely notices over the own sounds fleeing out of her mouth; wails, sobs, whimpers… all mashed up together in the turmoil of relief that took over upon seeing Beca was truly alright.

"I'm okay," Chloe hears into her ear, and feels a hand rub soothing circles between her shoulder blades. "I'm _okay_."

Chloe eventually pulls away, reaching with both hands to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. She sits on the side of the bed -careful not to touch Beca's leg- and slides her hand into Beca's.

"You scared the shit out of me, Bec," Chloe manages after a few seconds. "You passed out and wouldn't wake up."

"I did?" Beca asks with a frown. "To be honest I don't remember much. I remember being shot and you showing up but… that's about it. The rest is a bit blurry."

Chloe swallows down her disappointment as best as she can. She was selfishly hoping that Beca would declare her love again, break-up with Jesse and that they could finally be together. But then she remembers life is not all rainbows and butterflies and accepts it as it is.

She is grateful enough Beca _lives_.

Still, that longing in her chest is back full force.

"The doctors said it might gradually come back but that I was already lucky to make it out alive and whole. They said I could have lost my leg if it weren't for your quick thinking. Or that I could have…" Beca pauses to swallow. "…died if you hadn't pulled me out when you did."

Chloe grits her teeth to keep another onslaught of emotions from showing up.

"Thank you, Chlo," Beca's thumb is running over Chloe's knuckles repeatedly. "Y'know, for saving my life."

Chloe giggles tearfully, swiping a finger below her eye to catch a fresh tear, before waving that hand in front of her face. "No biggie."

And they both know Chloe is saying that to lighten the mood, to give them a break from the overhanging post-traumatic disorder they will most likely suffer from for an extended period of time.

For the time being, she chooses to focus on the fact that Beca is out of the woods, and that they will both heal in their own time.

/

Beca comes home a week later, as planned. As her room is located in the attic and she uses crutches to get around, Chloe insists she take her room, the only one on the first floor.

"I'm not gonna kick you out, Chlo," Beca says as she follows Chloe as best as she can down the hall. Chloe already has Beca's hospital bag in hand, which she knows contains Beca's laptop and headphones, two items the brunette cannot live without, and is carrying it to her bedroom.

"It's fine, Beca," Chloe assures her with a bright smile while opening her door. "Besides, the bathroom is right across the hall, it will just be… easier for you."

"No, I know," Beca says softly. "I was just referring to the fact that you don't have to go just because I stay in your room."

Chloe's mind draws a blank.

"Oh."

Beca shrugs.

"I mean, we _have_ shared a bed before, so no reason for it to be weird, right?" Beca wrung her hands, gaze hesitant and fleeting. "I don't think I can sleep on my own."

Sure, Chloe would have agreed in a heartbeat a week ago when she thought her feelings for Beca could never be reciprocated. When she didn't know Beca was in love with her. Now she knows, but Beca doesn't know that, and Chloe doubts she has ever been in such an awkward situation.

So she goes for the most sensible thing to do. She listens to her heart instead of her brain.

"Totes. Not gonna be weird."

 _Dam_ _mit_ _, heart._

/

Chloe's nightmares subside about ten days after the shooting, while Beca's only increase in frequency and intensity, to the point where Chloe can't shut an eye anymore, too afraid of sleeping through one of Beca's panic attacks.

"Beca, look at me," Chloe murmurs, gently holding Beca's face with both hands as the brunette's breathing comes into sharp, uncontrollable tugs. "You're okay. We're in the house, the front door is locked, and so is mine. It's _okay_."

"But-" Beca sputters, eyes flitting to the door. "I heard shots and-"

"Shh," Chloe pulls the shorter woman into her arms, chest heavy upon witnessing Beca's fright. She rubs a hand up and down Beca's back and kisses her temple. "It was just a nightmare. You're safe."

Beca doesn't go back to class right away.

She doesn't come to attend the ICCA's either. They still win, but the victory without one of their leaders feels bittersweet to the whole group.

She only leaves the house to go to physical therapy, which Jesse usually drives her to.

Except today. It's been a month since the shooting and Jesse has an interview so Beca asks Chloe if she can drive her instead. Chloe accepts without hesitation, not caring if she's missing an important class, and helps Beca into the car, tossing her crutches into the back seat.

She decides, with Beca's permission, to stick around for the session. Never had she imagined it would be this hard to watch.

Beca's exhaustion from lack of sleep, added to the physical strain demanded by the exercise is too much, and the brunette ends up breaking down in the middle of the session. The therapist tells her to take a five-minute-break to gather some strength.

Chloe kneels by Beca's chair and hands her a bottle of water while Beca wipes at her tear-stained face, blowing out a breath.

"God, this is embarrassing."

"You're doing good, Bec," Chloe encourages, squeezing Beca's healthy leg. Beca loosens the straps of her leg brace with a wince, slumping back against the chair.

"You're just saying that. This is my fifth session and I can't even take a step without those damn crutches."

"You'll get it," Chloe insists, mouth stretching into an encouraging smile. "You're stronger than you know, and I believe in you, Beca Mitchell."

She emphasizes her words by swiftly kissing Beca's cheek without thinking twice about it, and blames it on the spur of the moment kind of thing. She wonders if the blush rushing to meet Beca's face is a figment of her imagination and feels her pulse thud harder against her neck when she realizes it clearly isn't.

By the end of the session, and with Chloe cheering her on, Beca manages to take not only one, but two steps without any support. Chloe squeals and pulls her into a tight hug that has Beca staggering backwards slightly until she catches herself on the bars.

An apology flies from Chloe's mouth, but Beca's bright smile tells her she's more than okay.

They order pizzas and stop at the store to get some beer and ice-cream to celebrate -Chloe insists this should be celebrated- and spend a quiet night in watching _Brooklyn Nine-Nine_ on Hulu while the other Bellas are out.

"Thank you for staying with me today," Beca speaks while the end credits roll, pulling Chloe's attention from the screen. "I really appreciate it."

Chloe hums.

"Of course. Does Jesse usually not stay?"

"No, he…" Beca trails off, as if looking for the right words. "He's been distant since the shooting. Or _I've_ been distant, I don't know."

"Oh?"

Beca shrugs.

"We'll get past this. It's just a rough patch."

Chloe doesn't say anything. She can't lie and tell Beca she hopes they will. Because that selfish part of her would like Beca and Jesse to be over, and Chloe hates herself for it.

/

She hates herself even more when Beca actually breaks up with Jesse a month later.

Beca has been rid of the crutches for a while now but still has a slight limp that is most likely to remain, a constant reminder of what happened to her. She still sleeps in Chloe's room despite her improvement and Chloe dreads the day she decides to move back to the room she shares with Fat Amy.

She's grown accustomed to holding Beca or Beca holding her, or just spending quality time together, simply lying in bed to watch something on Netflix, read a book or in Beca's case, work on her mixes.

Beca's scent is now all over Chloe's bed, while her clothes and music equipment are variously scattered around the room like Beca never intends to go.

"What's up?" Chloe asks over her book when she sees Beca hang back by the doorway of her - _their_? Oh, shut up, brain- bedroom.

Beca shrugs and steps in fully, shutting the door behind her. She wordlessly gets into bed and sits across from Chloe's, folding her hands onto her lap.

"I broke up with Jesse."

Chloe swallows and sets her book aside, straightening up from her reclining position. She turns so that she's facing Beca, leaving but little distance between them. Their knees touch as they both sit Indian style. Chloe reaches over to lay a hand over Beca's.

"I'm sorry."

And she truly is. Breaking up with somebody is never easy, especially with how Beca and Jesse once loved one another.

"It's okay," Beca speaks quietly, looking up to meet Chloe's eyes. "We just weren't working anymore. It was still hard, though."

"I can imagine."

Beca clears her throat, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"The fact that we weren't working isn't the only reason I broke up with him."

Chloe wills her brain not to jump to conclusion and listens intently, tilting her head to the side.

"Okay?"

"Memories from that day have been coming back to me bit by bit," Beca continues. Chloe's heart didn't listen, and is now thumping loudly against her ribs in unrestrained hope. Beca's gaze is hesitant, fleeting, like she isn't sure she should go through with it. "I kissed you."

Chloe's mind turns blank for a second as it replays the moment. Her lips tingle and she swipes her tongue over them absent-mindedly.

"Beca-"

"Why didn't you say anything, Chlo?" Beca interrupts, tone calm and collected, a stark contrast to the storm ready to strike inside Chloe's chest.

"You were with Jesse, and you had to focus on yourself to get better so… I took a step back."

"Oh," Beca lets out, blinking twice. "I thought you didn't tell me because you didn't feel the same way."

Chloe is wondering if her heart might not just beat out of her chest with glee.

"I do," she says, squeezing Beca's fingers gently. "I do feel the same way."

"You do?" Beca echoes, and Chloe has to reign in a laugh upon witnessing the dumbfound look across Beca's features. As if there was an ounce in Chloe's body that didn't love Beca back.

"Yeah. I have for a while now," Chloe clarifies, a new sense of confidence seeping through her veins. "Is it-" she still has to take a deep breath in order to, you know, not _faint_. "Is it too early to kiss you? You know, given the fact that you're _just_ single."

"I think…" Beca starts, the lopsided smile she gives Chloe a clear indicator of the answer. Chloe's fingers burn to touch her. "That we've been beating around the bush long enough to delay this anymore."

Chloe thinks truer words have never been spoken. She smiles back, and meets Beca in the middle.

Their second kiss is better than Chloe ever hoped for, and Beca smiles against her lips, cupping Chloe's face gently to pull her closer.

The bird sings happily by the open window, and so does Chloe's heart.

* * *

 **Thoughts?**


End file.
